The Importance Of Creating a Customer Journey Map

Ever heard of customer journey mapping? This isn’t a new concept, it’s a process that helps businesses and brands learn more about clients and journeys have taken as they interact with you.  

Basically, you put yourself in your customers’ shoes to understand what process they do to achieve what they want out of your business. Or, it has you learn what makes them decide to stop choosing you. 

It’s a great marketing strategy, as you shift focus and power to consumers for better understanding to reach your goals. But why should you focus more on doing this now?

Read on as I show you why customer journey mapping is vital to achieving your business’ goals! 

Why You Need to Create a Customer Journey Map

One of the top benefits a customer journey map can provide is, a better user experience. But beyond improving user experience, what else makes these maps so important? Here are the top three reasons why you should create one:

Increases Return of Investment and Results

It’s been proven how these journey maps work! A user journey map report showed that up to 67% of customer experience professionals are or have used customer journey mapping before. 

Almost 90% of those who have used it reported that they receive a positive impact, especially in terms of better customer satisfaction and lower numbers of customer complaints. 

But why? A customer journey map can allow organizations to further understand customer context and intent. You gain invaluable and necessary views of what your existing and potential customers want to better engage with them, deepening your understanding. 

Because of this, businesses can optimize every channel based on the real and high-quality data they receive. This enables them to refine targeting, based on specific customer needs and interactions, delivering personalized messaging. Remember: Personality is a business’ key to get to people’s hearts!

With better and more meaningful interactions that provide value to their customers, the more they will respond positively. They feel like they are being valued in the organization and will return the favor by staying loyal and sharing what you have to offer with others. 

As a result, you receive a cost-effective return on investment and better results from marketing strategies. After all, if you can’t understand the customer journey, you won’t know the customers well enough to cater to their needs. That’s an important part of brand loyalty and engagement.

Gives Businesses Quicker Sales Cycles

A good plot out user journey map can improve a business’ sales cycles. This is because you provide a seamless customer experience across all channels based on what customers need for them to take quick action. 

When organizations optimize each channel to ensure that all departments unify their approach in improving customer engagement, it streamlines the sales cycle. 

No need to experience obstacles or receive inconsistent (or even the wrong) information as they make a purchase or navigate through your website. YES, there are predictable impediments during each buying stage you need to remove, which is what a journey map does!

And think of it this way: If you keep going through various obstacles as you try achieving something that could’ve been simplified, would you still go through with it? No, you would’ve gone to another company instead!

When all obstacles are removed and everything is consistent with a user journey map, customers can progress through your sales cycles. 

This is done when understanding customer experiences so you can create, adjust, then enhance all stages for an efficient buying and/or service process.

Customers will then be able to achieve their goals and take action, which has you achieve your own goals, too!

Unify Customer Data and Engagement

As I mentioned, businesses will have separate departments, which may lead to inconsistencies in terms of data management. 

For instance, one department might not have the necessary customer information needed when making informed decisions. Instead of constantly having misaligned customer data, a user journey map allows all departments to unify. 

Businesses can collect data based on the customer journey map and compile comprehensive customer profiles. You collect data based on engagements across all channels, so even after the purchase has been made, you can continue engaging with customers correctly to upsell and cross-sell more relevant things your business offers.

Wrapping It Up

Customer journey mapping is a NEED for all types of businesses. The benefits and importance of this will only continue growing, since after all, what better way can one understand their customers besides learning about who they are and their customer journey?

Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to start the process of customer journey mapping. It all boils down to putting your main focus on all your customers and how your business provides the products and services they need. Good luck!